The TEFL Tradesman

The Merennas and the Caparellis...

2012-01-15T18:59:00.017Z

I'm happy to be back with another story of Tefl crime and corruption, this time from one of our European neighbours. Please keep these stories coming in, dear Tefl spooks, as we need to do out best to protect ourselves from these swindlers, villains, and charlatans! ******* Bruno Merenna is the prime representative of a country. That sentence also works without the final syllable.

Regency - End of an Era?

2011-11-12T20:57:00.013Z

Regarding the subject of my previous posting, Regency Language School, this is the message that appeared on their Facebook page last week. Regency College English Language School We regret to tell you that Regency College has closed. Thank you to everyone who has worked and studied with us. We wish everyone luck and success with what happens next. This was, of course, very brave of Toby

Regency College, Brighton

2011-09-21T21:03:00.004+01:00

Not a lot of people know this, but Sandy has a network of Tefl spies peppered around the South coast of England, where dodgy outfits outnumber the bona-fide schools by about 2:1. My latest damning intelligence report concerns a rather vile little setup in Brighton, Regency College.We'd like to nominate Regency College in Hove, Brighton, as a candidate for Crap Employer of the Year. The senior

'CrapJobs!' for an Indian Summer!

2011-08-30T14:30:00.004+01:00

I would like to offer my sincere apologies for this belated battering of summer school ‘Crap Jobs!’, but adverse circumstances put themselves in my way. If you had the misfortune to walk into one of these nightmare jobs, paying 'Indian-style' wages, please leave a comment below and apprise us of your personal horror! First up is the Eckersley School of Oxford, a dignified Tefl institute that,

Crap Jobs, British Council style...

2011-08-07T21:46:00.001+01:00

Yes, it looks like the British Council is really scraping the barrel recruitment-wise. One of their recent adverts proudly claims a need for 10 newly-qualified Tefl twerps for Cairo – no experience needed at all!! Of course, there was a time when BC only accepted highly experienced and well-qualified teachers, but now a greenhorn – no, TEN greenhorns! – will have the lucky chance of being

Six Weeks in Chokey!

2011-08-01T22:30:00.006+01:00

So how can I possibly explain my sudden and unexpected absence? Suffice to say I was obliged to spend a few weeks entertaining the lads in a certain establishment of Her Majesty, not too dissimilar to the pristine hallways of the residential institution pictured alongside. And of course, the offer of free food and lodgings, together with the chance of a little homegrown whacky baccy (courtesy of

British Council 'not ready' for zombie attack

2011-06-17T21:01:00.011+01:00

A worried member of the Tefl profession has forced the British Council to admit it is unprepared for a zombie invasion of under-qualified ‘instructors’. The BC received a Freedom of Information request which said provisions to deal with such an attack, often seen in teacher-training horror films, were poor. The ‘concerned Tefler’ said the possibility of such an event was one that the Council

Summer School Caveat Issued!

2011-05-28T17:00:00.006+01:00

Well, this is REAL proof that Sandy Mac is losing his marbles day by day. I mean, I almost forgot to post my annual warning about working on Summer Schools! I've written more blog-postings about this particularly nasty type of bonded labour than any other subject, I guess, so it should be at least be a little bit uppermost in my mind.Anyway, here it goes for 2011. Just click on the link here and

Shock Horror - Teflers are NERDS!!

2011-05-16T22:10:00.003+01:00

My latest posting contains a brief report from Agent M, a well-concealed 'deep-throat' operative who is exceedingly well-placed to reveal to unsuspecting Tefl brethren the even seamier side of this appalling business. Or something like that. [Unfortunately the conference image that WAS alongside has had to be removed due to legal threats]I went to the IATEFL bash at Brighton last month and

Language Teaching Centre Eastbourne - The True Unprofessionals!

2011-05-05T21:44:00.008+01:00

OK, it's about time for my fortnightly update from one of the less salubrious corners of the Tefl kingdom. I know, I really should try and be more active on this blog, but what with my advancing state of Alzheimers, I can't remember the last time I posted. Shit, I can't even recall the last time I ... erm, what was I saying?This time it's a verbatim report from one of my Tefl spooks on the south

A Guided Visualisation: the Magic Board Marker

2011-04-22T13:15:00.011+01:00

For many of us unfortunate EFL teachers, the humble board-marker is a mere piece of teaching paraphernalia, a tool to be used in the daily struggle to educate those poor foreign morons in the language of freedom, democracy and untramelled binge-drinking. However, imagine if it was as elusive as that precious TEFL certificate - Diploma even! Surely we would look upon it with different eyes? Surely

Crap School - The Burlington [UPDATED]

2011-03-31T20:28:00.039+01:00

You see! I've only been back in the country a few weeks, and my TeflTrade spooks are STILL beavering away tirelessly, unearthing crap schools and passing on the news to Sandy. The latest piece of hot 'intelli' concerns a dump in London that rather grandly refers to itself as The Burlington School of English, and that rather gross-looking trout alongside is the Principal. The report begins: "

Teacher Censured by General Tefl Council

2011-03-05T23:03:00.006Z

It gives me mixed feelings to report this unfortunate story concerning a fellow Tefler, one who faces losing his job after being found guilty of ‘professional misconduct’ - repeatedly breaking wind in class and in the staffroom, and thus apparently offending his students and colleagues. Would you credit it!In my opinion the poor bugger, referred to hereafter as Comrade Perdomai, should be

General Gaddafi - My very small part in his downfall

2011-02-26T21:52:00.013Z

Actually, the half-shaven Libyan loon has a lot to answer for, in Tefl terms. You see, he alone is the man responsible for Sandy's return to the blogosphere. Were it not for 'Go-Go' Gaddafi's ill-fated act of careless judgement in machine-gunning a few entirely innocent Libyans a couple of weeks back, Sandy McManus would still be shuffling around an oil-field in one of Tefl's least glamorous

Suspension of Service

2010-10-21T21:03:00.005+01:00

Yes, I'm afraid to have to inform you that Sandy McManus has applied for leave to take early Winter hibernation, and shall be doing so with immediate effect. Fact is, there's far too many things going on in my life these days, and the mere thought of blogging obliges me to groan internally.So I'll be lying very low, although I'll still be keeping an eye on things - just not allowing myself to

Great TEFL Inventions

2010-10-09T19:01:00.005+01:00

Sandy McManus is extremely proud to introduce a novel departure on The Tefl Tradesman - a critical look at new developments in the field of pedagogical hardware and technology. To those of my critics (apparently there are some) who feel I am an educational luddite, wholly unqualified to pass comment on any classroom contraption beyond a stick of chalk and the ever-present cat-o-nine-tails, I

'Crap Jobs!' for (erm...) August!

2010-09-30T11:14:00.009+01:00

OK, I know this monthly summary of the good, the bad, and the downright fuggin' ugly Tefl salaries on offer is more than a tad late already, but so what? I mean, is there any sane teacher out there who would actually consider applying for one of these dogshit jobs?Oh, right ... I see.